Mac-in-the-Box

The guys at 1 Block Off the Grid needed a high-end Mac to run Adobe After Effects, but instead of buying an expensive Mac Pro, they decided to build their own computer. Normally that would be nothing to write home about, but the 1BOG staff really put the hack in Hackintosh. Here’s their computer:

The total cost? A little more than $800 (USD) in parts, a far cry from the $2500 price of the cheapest Mac Pro available. $2000 iMac, which as it is has a weaker graphics card, but a slightly better processor. The iMac also comes with a pretty (and pretty huge) 27-in screen, but I don’t think that’s worth $1200. Plus you can draw on the Mac-in-the-box case! Check out the 1BOG blog for more info on how they built the cardboard Hackintosh.

As an industrial design graduate and currently working as a multimedia developer, I’ve always loved Apple hardware and software design, but since economics is an issue and since Adobe make all the same software for PCs, then that’s what I buy.

This mac in a box is really neat and less apt to be stolen in a home invasion, but why does it have to be a mac? In contrast, I just bought an Asus PC desktop with the faster i5 cpu, same size HD, twice the ram, a real case, Win7, Dvd burner, and all the “givens” that come with a real computer for less than $800. With the updated 3 monitor 1 Gig DDR5 Gpu it comes out to be the same price as this “mac” and runs After Effects perfectly. Just sayin…

Maybe they only have a copy of After Effects for Mac?:D Also keep in mind that Snow Leopard only costs $79 :D But I get what you’re saying; if they really wanted to minimize costs they could have built an “ordinary” PC.